Breathe Easy
by emzilyyyy
Summary: Tony still needs to face, fight and recover from the plague. Set straight after SWAK, before Twilight. Tony-centric in those weeks we didn't hear about. I guess it was a little worse then they let on.
1. Chapter 1

**OH HI!**

**Picks up right at the end of the episode 'SWAK'.**

"This reminds me of the end of 'Alien'"

The words came out somewhat forced but they performed the task that Tony had intended.

Kate let out a chuckle of air and a contented breath of what seemed to be relief before sinking back into the uncomfortable hospital mattress. The words were like a thin yet warming blanket of reassurance that Tony had set her, it was the best he could do. She had prepared herself for silence upon entering the room but the words had loosened the knot that had been balled in her stomach ever since she'd heard Tony's diagnosis. She was thankful.

Tony guessed he'd been asleep because he was awoken by the whooshing of the automatic doors. He'd been slightly irritated at first; internally cursing whoever had decided to exit or enter the room at that precise moment in time. When all he wanted to do was to stay safe in the dark, peaceful oblivion he had just exited. He was tired, really tired, exhausted. He couldn't remember a time in his life where he had felt this crappy; it was probability because he hadn't. Come to think of it, this was one of the first times he had awoken by something other than a spasmodic bout of coughing that wrenched him from sleep, pulling his body up stiffly off the bed and sending a black fire from his lungs up his neck, singeing his throat. Dramatic, yeah.

He wished himself back to sleep, cherishing the coughing free moment while he had it. He couldn't concentrate properly on the hushed conversation that reached his ears from the other side of the room; he listened as light footsteps approached his bed and stopped before him. He had a visitor and he didn't have to whip out his major detective-ing skills to know it was Kate. She'd been there since the beginning. He was no idiot, he knew she had lied about also contracting the plague; he just didn't have the energy to ponder why just yet. He was grateful, no doubt and he would find the time to thank her, dead-set seriously in the future, but not now. He also knew he would find some way to tease her about it, to lighten up the mood. Something about her not being able to stay away most like. He didn't quite have the energy or concentration to think it up now. Come to think of it; he would probably never have the energy or concentration to rebut the banter that would follow a sincere, thankful presentation if he were to carry it out.

The bed next to him creaked as she lay down, he almost smiled to himself. No matter how much he might deny it in the future, having Kate there saved his life in one way. She had gripped his arm as he coughed and stayed with him for hours, mainly keeping up the facade of normality; she had kept the conversation rolling, the jokes, the teasing until he could not respond anymore. He couldn't really remember her leaving, wait, when had she left? He raked through his fumbled thoughts and came up with an unreliable mental picture, Kate had left crying? His gut was clenched with an odd sort of guilt; he had caused her that worry. He had scared her. He knew he shouldn't feel guilty about something as stupid and scaring a highly trained federal agent when he was on his own death bed, but this was Kate, Kate- the one with the feelings.

He swallowed and winced at the response the simple action had earned from his throat, ravaged raw from the relentless coughing.

"This reminds me of the end of 'Alien'"

* * *

Kate lay on her side facing her co-worker as he slept. He had fallen asleep almost instantaneously after speaking to her. His breathing had deepened, but not by much. She winced as she listened to him breathing noisily next to her, but he seemed oblivious. He would take a breath that it seemed he intended to be deep, but it would cut short in his constricted lungs, resulting in a wheezy gasp before he would exhale a forceful raspy choke. Every so often she would freeze on the mattress listening intently as his breathing broke it's unstable pattern, a pause of silence that lasted a few seconds but felt more like hours as Kate lay still, bunching the pillow as she fought the urge to leap from the bed and make sure he was still alive. It always resumed with a choky cough or another noise as he unconsciously cleared his throat.

Nurse Emma would enter the room regularly; Kate would lie silently, feigning sleep as she listened to the Nurse checking on her patient, whispering her actions to the sleeping man as she went about her business. The nasal cannula made a re-appearance later in the night when Kate was woken by hacking coughs. Tony had his chin to his chest and his eyes screwed up in a vain attempt to lever himself into an upright position, a sheen on sweat covered his brow. Kate rose swiftly from her bed and assisted the Nurse, they hauled Tony's almost dead weight into a sitting position and supported him while he coughed, placing an emesis basin in his lap, which when he was done he lent forward and spat a mouthful of bloody sputum into.

"Tony, that's got to be the most disgusting thing I've seen you do since that practical joke you play on McGee last April Fools."

Tony's response was a mere grunt as he crushed his eyes shut and let his head hang low as he sat with the two women still supporting most of his weight. He didn't want to risk another coughing fit by replying. The two helped him gently back into his previous horizontal position before Emma moved to reorganize the oxygen tank. Kate patted Tony's arm.

"You alright?"

"Hold on..." He rasped, eyes only half open from exhaustion, "Give me a couple of minutes to... come up with an... insanely witty come-back."

Emma reappeared and began setting up the equipment, position the cannula on Tony's face in silence. His breathing had become ragged and uneven half an hour before hand and the Nurse had been about to get the equipment when he began coughing. She turned to leave and looked back at Kate who was sitting on the edge of her bed and offered a small smile. Kate glanced at her partner then followed the nurse to the edge of the isolation chamber, fully awake and worried.

"Is he okay?" She spoke in barely a whisper.

Emma's forehead creased. "He's temperature has risen a little at 102, we're monitoring it closely. I've got a PAP machine and mask ready if his breathing doesn't improve soon, he doesn't like it but if it helps him to relax and maybe get some rest. I think it's worth a shot- that is if we can keep it on him. He isn't through with this yet I'm afraid." Kate frowned and stole another worried glance at the man asleep in the bed.

"Kate, the best thing for him right now is that he listens to what we tell him and that he has his friends around him. Now, that isn't going to work properly if you're dead on your feet. Get some rest and relax a little, try not to worry. We've got all the medical stuff covered and everyone's doing their best to help Tony."

"Okay, thank you... I'm sorry, it's all just so - "

"It's fine, get some rest."

The nurse left while Kate made her way back to the bed, taking up her familiar perch at the edge of her mattress, surprised when she looked to see Tony staring blearily back at her. There was a few seconds silence before Kate spoke.

"Thought of a one yet?"

"Hmmmm... Yeah, 'least it wasn't as disgusting as ... your face?"

"Weak."

"Mmmm"

Kate sat watching her co-worker for a few minutes, obsessively monitoring his breathing. She wasn't sure why she felt quite so worried, finding the need to watch him with her own eyes when he was hooked up to an array of world-class monitoring equipment that could do the job a million times better. She loved Tony, but as a big brother, a good friend and she was content with keeping it that way. She knew Tony was too- as much as he may taunt and tease her, it was his game; just a game and they both knew that. It was just seeing him like this, compared to his usual larger-than-life self, it was scary. Scarier yet was his stoic and indifferent manor. He'd continued to keep up the game, the façade, even when he was drowning in his own bloody lungs. She wanted to hit him- slap some sense into him. Maybe eight slaps; one for each of the words 'Shut' 'Up' 'DiNozzo', 'You're' 'Supposed' 'To' 'Be' 'Dying'.

She didn't hit him though; she just lay back as stared at the ceiling for the rest of the night.

**That's right, I couldn't stay away. I'm back for experimental time consuming yet slightly addictive Fanfiction story number two. You can count on me for at least one more chapter, this one was kind of really short. Sorry about that. **

**Love. **

**Hey lovelies, well thanks and you?**


	2. Chapter 2

McGee edged a little closer to the glass surrounding the isolation chamber, peering cautiously into its depths. He knew Kate had left the hospital early that morning so she had enough time to go home, shower and change to be ready for work in a few hours, but he hadn't meant to make the trip alone. He hadn't heard much from the others about Tony's condition, only a disjointed mumble from Gibbs of 'What ya think, McGee?' which wasn't too encouraging combined with the avid Googling he had already done. Kate had sent him a mere text saying 'You should go see him, Tim.' He'd worried about the context those six emotionless words in the message were supposed to be in. Was it meant to be a friendly 'Go visit Tony, he's bored and needs a friend and is driving me nuts with movie references' or a 'go visit Tony, he's about to cark it'. From what he could see from his awkward positioning on the outer of the isolation chamber, it was leaning closer to the second.

Tony was stretched out on a hospital bed, unmoving, which was unusual. Two nurses stood over him, nudging their way through a cluster of medical equipment. Tubes and chords snaked out of the various monitors and entered his co-worker at different points; his face was obscured by a bulky oxygen mask which was strapped down tight. McGee swallowed as his wandering eyes took in a ventilator sitting idly to the side, just in case.

McGee had never had much experience in hospitals, save for a couple of trips in his younger years to visit ill grandmothers and great uncles and once for a fractured wrist. Even in those few rare occasions he hadn't liked it. It was something to do with the sterile smell, the high contrasting of calm and panic that altered on the different floors and the utter whiteness of the place. He had considered a medical degree for about five to six seconds after finishing school but it was immediately scratched off the list. He was fine with dealing with dead bodies, mangled and gruesome, it didn't bother him anymore. What would bother him a lot more were if that mangled and gruesome body were to be alive. There is a certain chaotic pressure if a person is mangled and gruesome and yet still breathing.

He was unsure of what he was really doing there. He hadn't worked with Tony for all that long and in the time he had had the pleasure of the other man's company he had been teased, taunted, pranked, poked and pulverized by him. Yet supporting all the grief they gave each other was a solid, yet highly camouflaged foundation that was their weird, twisted and slightly deformed friendship. And so there he was.

He took a couple of steps closer, not really sure what to do. He checked his watch again; he had half an hour before he had to leave for the NCIS building. Doctors and nurses moved about but they all walked with purpose in their step and he wasn't sure who he was supposed to speak to or what he should ask. He was about to take a random stab and approach a young and pretty looking nurse when something heavy, unexpected and unexplainable attached itself to his back and locked strong, collared and spiky wrists around his waist.

"Abby, hey" McGee smiled, relieved at finding a familiar, friendly and supportive person.

"Hey Timmy," She said, un-attaching herself, "I'm so glad you're here, I wasn't too sure I wanted to go in by myself."

McGee gave her a look and she started, straightening up and raising her hands defensively.

"Not that I wouldn't have come if I hadn't known you were here, because I am, I'm here and I really didn't know you were coming. I had to come, like, no thought involved at all, since this is Tony we're talking about, well, I'm taking about, but I had to visit. To see if he was okay? Is he okay? Kate said he wasn't okay? What if he's not okay?"

"I dunno, I haven't seen him yet, I just came in."

Abby took him by the hand and together they moved forward until they were standing directly in front of the glass, staring in like it was a fish tank. Before Abby really had any time to take any of it in they were interrupted by a doctor who addressed them from behind.

"Excuse me, can I help you two?" He asked sternly, "Not lost are we?"

"Oh! Um, sorry - Yes, I mean no- not lost. I'm Abigail Sciuto and this is Timothy McGee, um, he's an NCIS Special Agent, here Timmy, show him your badge, uh..." Abby said in one breath, hurriedly sticking a hand in McGee's pocket in search of his badge, he brushed her hand away and gave her a stern look.

"Abby - stop it! Sorry, sir... We're-"

"You two work with Tony?" The doctor interrupted, suddenly looking a bit friendlier.

"Yes, yes we do." Abby said, fingering her NCIS Forensics identification.

"No problem. Sorry about that, we've just been having trouble with some... medical tourists. Word seems to have gotten out that we have a plague patient down here, I have to send people out for using flash photography!"

"Photos?" Abby asked, a horrified expression crossing her face at the thought of people taking pictures of her sick friend. "How could they?"

"No, no! Calm down - I'm sorry. I was kidding about the photos part. It seems Tony's become a bit of a superstar and attracted some attention. Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Dr. Brad Pitt, Tony's doctor."

"I bet Tony had a field day with a name like that - Kate probably deserves a gold star; you know, the movie thing." McGee murmured, shaking the doctor's hand. Pitt nodded and chuckled lightly, his expression growing serious as he turned back to the glass.

"Can we go in and visit him?" Abby asked nervously.

"Yeah sure, you've got to be mindful though; He had a rough night last night and his breathing took a turn for the worse early this morning, he's exhausted, I just need you to make sure the oxygen mask stays on and that you let him rest."

Abby nodded and McGee thanked the doctor before they both turned and moved to enter the chamber. Abby clutched McGee's hand like her life depended on it as the hissing died away and they both tentatively moved into the room. One of the nurses looked up and smiled at them encouragingly; she finished scrawling something on her clipboard then moved to speak to the two.

"Hi, I'm Emma." The nurse introduced herself.

"Emma, I'm Tim and this is Abby" McGee said, Abby murmured a hello, her eyes wide and firmly fixed on the figure lying in the bed.

"I don't know if you've spoken to Brad, but he's not doing too well at the moment. It's just too risky for us to give him anything to help him sleep with his breathing the way it is, he's not having much luck with sleeping. We need to make sure he gets all the rest he can. Of course he's doing his best and is extremely stubborn. His breathing is a bit of an issue. So- both of you know, he knows and I know the mask is going to stay _on_." The nurse said, her voice raising at the last sentence and she turned her head so the patient in the bed could hear her.

Abby, who could not politely restrain herself any longer, clomped the last few steps to Tony's bed.

Tony looked blearily up at her, smiling under the bulky oxygen mask. The other nurse finished what she was doing and gave him a pat on the arm before she moved off to follow Emma out of the room. Abby nervously hovered over him for a few seconds as she took it all in, nervous about touching anything she shouldn't. In a matter of seconds she gave up on being careful and flung one arm around her friend.

She swallowed hard as she leant down to hug him, this was worse than she had expected and worse than what the other two had let on. Tony had dark smudges plastered under his eyes, and his eyelids were hooded with exhaustion. His hair stuck up in sweaty, oily spikes and his face was a ghostly white, save for a bluish tinge that touched his nose, lips and fingernails. Tony had to be about the second strongest person she knew and it was terrifying to see him looking downright weak. She had a feeling this moment was going to be pasted to the back of her mind for a very long time. As she straightened she composed her face again, repeating a mantra in her head of 'Positive, positive, positive' as she tried to brighten the mood in the room.

"Tony! Oh my god, I've been so worried about you! You look absolutely terrible! ... Sorry, that's probably not something you want to hear first thing in the morning..."

"Abbs..." Tony mumbled as he tried to drag his arm up to remove the mask so he could talk. Abby smacked it away.

"No talking mister, you just have to focus everything on getting better."

"S'good t' see you"

"And Tim too, Tim's here as well. Where are you? Come on, McGee!" Abby said, turning and grabbing his wrist and pulling him about an inch closer from where he stood silently. She raised her eyebrows at him dangerously while her back was turned to their sick co-worker. McGee nodded at Tony and swallowed a lump in his throat. Now the spot light seemed to be shining on him as Abby and Tony both looked at him expectantly. He was forced to look at his partner's sickly pallor, amplified a million times by the feeling that he was in some way responsible for his friends suffering.

Luckily, or unluckily Tony saved him from his awkward speech by launching into a rather impressive coughing fit. Tony clutched and fumbled blindly with the mask as he chocked into it. He was immediately assisted by a magically appearing nurse who swiftly removed the mask and helped him clear his lungs, before professionally settling him back onto the partially raised bed. All the while Abby laid a cool hand on his and spoke soothing words. The two visitors were shocked at the amount of energy it had taken out of Tony by the mere action of coughing. The obvious fatigue that was left behind from the small exertion was scary.

"M'sorry ... 'bout tha -"

He was cut short as the Goth slapped him on the arm; he looked at her and then down at his arm in mock horror.

"Tony! No talking!"

Tony opened his mouth to voice a raspy protest but was stopped short when Abby let loose, obviously using her motor mouth as a tactic in keeping him silent.

" Gibbs hardly let on about any of this, I mean, Kate said you were in rough shape but I guess I didn't really think- Of course I researched the plague and everything but I didn't think it could actually, really, truly be as bad as the websites say, you know?" Abby paused momentarily to take a breath of air and give her friend's hand a gentle squeeze. Tony blinked up at her and smiled weakly under the mask, it was good to have a friendly face to take his mind of the all-to-familiar poking, prodding and pricking that loomed in the not too distant future. "Like, I gave up on Googleing my symptoms whenever I got sick years ago; I was convinced for weeks that my ingrown toenail was really a rare type of cancer. Every single website seemed continually tell me that. I mean, I was in therapy for months after discovering it was merely ingrown, imagine if it had been ... "

She continued on a few minutes longer, watching as her friend's eyelids sank lower and lower and Tony fought harder and harder against it. McGee had stood awkwardly on the other side of Tony's bed, agreeing with Abby in her one-way conversation every now and then, sometimes stepping in to elaborate on the vast variety of subjects that Abby managed to weave in, in a matter of minutes.

McGee ended up leaving earlier than he needed to, he hated hospitals, more though he hated seeing his colleague so motionless, pale, wheezy and on the verge of passing out before him. It was too weird, not natural and it had his stomach tied in knots. He flustered about in his monologue, waiving over the topic in a jumble of broken sentences before he managed to spit out what he was trying to say. 'See you Tony, feel better. I'm fleeing now.' And he was gone.

Abby on the other hand made herself comfortable in the world's most uncomfortable chair that was positioned by Tony's bedside. She stroked his oxygen deprived fingers as he fell into a shallow and fitful sleep. As far as she was concerned she was not going to be leaving his side any time soon, work could wait.

**Aw, I missed you guys!**

**I also missed getting reviews (Imagine that?). Can I just say that if you want to make my day, boost my ego, cause the occasional happy dance, insult, threaten me or criticize my work. PLA-EESE review it. It is quite terrifying how obscenely excited I get over death threats. Though positive also works as well. It's like you paying me with my own happiness.**

**No but seriously, um, comments and constructive criticism, advice, whatever. Wanted - needed. Shoot.**

**Love.**


	3. Chapter 3

**VOILA.**

Gibbs took another swig from the bottle he held loosely his hand and ran the other through his hair before resting his head in his palm. He had given up on working on his boat hours ago, sober enough to know he had to stop before he destroyed it. He had not intended to get as drunk as he was but his usual emotional outlet - his boat, had proved not enough and before he knew it he was slouched at the foot of the stairs. The events of the past few days weighed down on him and the drink wasn't taking any of the load; really it was just making him feel heavier.

Emotions were not something Gibbs displayed openly in public, or private for that matter. But he felt them no doubt, regardless to popular belief he was in fact human and he did have feelings.

He had visited his Senior Field Agent that afternoon, as soon as the case had been closed and all ends tied. He'd made sure that he had gotten regular updates from Ducky and as the news got worse he had to fight all his instincts not to drop everything and visit his agent. He restrained himself until he had solved the case, it would not have helped Tony, having himself moping about the hospital when he could be out catching the woman that cause his agent all that trauma. He'd almost lost it at one point, when he had been standing on the opposite side of the glass as the microbiologist. He had been so angry he could have shot the man right there. _Fifteen percent_; he could have shot anyone.

He had braced himself upon entering the hospital with warnings from Ducky that his agent, his friend wasn't doing the best. DiNozzo certainly hadn't disappointed. Gibbs had had to swallow back his emotions, he knew Tony relied on and followed his judgments without a second thought. He was one of the only people that could read Gibbs... on some degree, a very small degree, sometimes... Gibbs had to lead the way and so he had done what he did best; hidden his emotions and stuck up his stone barricade. He hadn't offered a word of comfort to his agent - just an order. There was only a minute list of things that could control his Field Agent, and an order was right up there. Tony could never disobey an order from the man he was so loyal to.

Gibbs felt guilty. The realization that his agent was not immortal and was facing the very real, and high possibility of death brought on a wave of thoughts, feelings and revelations for Gibbs. He had worked with this man for two years now, scouted him himself from Baltimore. Gibbs never really faced the reasons why he had picked DiNozzo; he'd known them deep down but never really thought about it. The guy was talented as an investigator. He was intelligent and he was loyal. He was an individual and he was a professional, and he was a lot like Gibbs used to be. Gibbs saw himself in the younger man, and he saw a lot of potential. But _really_, he realized that he didn't know as much as he thought he did about the man. Sure, he new more about DiNozzo's sex life than he really did about his own, but what else? The guy liked pizza, he typed like an eighty year old and he had watched a few movies, a few hundred million movies. Gibbs now knew more about Sean Connery than he did about Anthony DiNozzo. It worried him. It made him feel guilty.

Today brought the very real prospect that he could loose a member of his team. It also brought the recognition that he really did care about his team, they were like a little family. Scenarios ran through his mind, what would he do if one of them were to die? Kate? Tony? Hell; even Tim? He had grown closer to the little group than he usually allowed himself. The more you rely, trust, get to know people, the harder hurts when you loose them. Gibbs didn't know if he could survive loosing any more people so close to him. He saw the irony in his occupation, but it had never really been as prevalent as it was recently. Sure, he had lost agents before but there was something different about his current team.

He stretched out on the lower steps and placed the bottle down, glancing at his watch and rolling his eyes. It was too late to call Ducky, even if it was just for a reassuring chat and he didn't want to bother with a phone call to the hospital to check on DiNozzo. They already knew he was the first person to call if something happened.

He was thankful to Kate. Kate had been there when he couldn't be and as much as he wanted to head-slap her into next week for risking exposure, he knew and she knew it was the right thing to do. Ducky had told him what she had done; reassuringly taunted, teased and joked with her co-worker when he was at his worst. Had she done anything else Tony would most probably have been largely disconcerted. She had kept him distracted and restrained his mind from wandering or truly contemplating the severity of the situation. It was impossible to ignore as time ticked by but Kate had managed to downplay it for a majority of the time, keeping up the normality. Even though she had lied to Tony, the guy would forgive her and thank her as Gibbs would, for providing him with hope. It's what family did.

Gibbs grimaced. He had wasted a countless amount of time trying in vain to contact his Senior Field Agent's father. He had succeeded only once in getting through to a bland, droning receptionist.

"Hello-Anthony-DiNozzo's-office-this-is-Sandra-speaking-how-can-I-help-you?"

"My name is Special Agent Gibbs, I work with NCIS and am calling in regards to Mr. Dinozzo's son."

"I-was-not-aware-Mr.-DiNozzo-had-a-son-are-you-sure-you-were-looking-for-Anthony-Dinozzo-of-DiNozzo-Industries?"

"Yes I'm sure, is there any way I can speak to him. It's regarding his son's health: It's urgent."

"Sure-Mister-Gibbs-can-you-hold-please?-Thank-you – 'click'"

Gibbs had stood shifting restlessly with the phone pressed to his ear for the better part of five minutes before the disembodied voice returned on the line.

"I'm-sorry-Sir-Mister-DiNozzo-is-not-avaliable-at-present-would-you-like-to-leave-a-message?"

"Is there any way I can speak with him? I don't think he understands the severity and urgency of the situation. His son Tony is seriously ill, in the hospital."

"One-moment-please-Sir"

He listened with growing frustration to the muffled sounds of two people speaking through the telephone. The easily distinguishable voice of the receptionist relayed the information to somebody else, who dismissed it in a gruff tone. It did not take much for Gibbs to deduct that he was listening to the not-so-busy Anthony DiNozzo Senior.

"I'm-sorry-Sir-Mister-DiNozzo-really-cannot-be-interrupted-if-you-leave-your-name-and-number-I-can – "'click'

Gibbs hung up the phone at than and very nearly hurled it at the wall. Instead he shoved it furiously into his jacket pocket and increased his infamous frown by a tenfold.

That phone call had only opened up more questions about the mysterious life of his agent. What type a father had Senior been? Ignoring a phone call as important as that, fully aware of its seriousness and that it concerned his only son? Gibbs could only shake his head and let the guilt drift back because of the fact he had not a single answer to that question.

* * *

Gibbs clipped down the stairs leading from MTAC to the squad room, each step jolted his headache reminding him over and over of his mistake. Gibbs knew the rule as well as Tony did; never drink on a school night. It was certainly not going to be aiding his mood today. He slipped his mobile back into his pocket. He had just finished having a one-sided, quick and definite conversation with his forensic scientist. Well, she had had the conversation with him. Apparently he would have to unhook her cold, dead fingers from the railing of Tony's bedpost if he went in there to get her to come to work; at least if he entered the room to remove her in the next two hours. She would be back at work by nine.

He was surprised to see McGee sitting at his desk. He wasn't due there for another ten minutes and although his teams were hard workers, it had been a hard few days and there was no obvious reason why he should be there.

Gibbs let it slide and approached his own desk as though he hadn't noticed his agent was abnormally early. They all had their different ways of coping with situations. Maybe this was Tim's, he hadn't known the kid for all that long and even though he was still a little green he saw serious potential.

'Morning,' Gibbs said as he took the seat behind his desk.

'Morning, Boss,' replied McGee, straightening in his own seat and glancing up nervously at his superior. Gibbs took in his posture, the darting of his eyes and the way he was uneasily chewing his bottom lip. McGee had proved himself by picking up the slack while Tony and Kate were away and he needed to cut the kid some. He could see how jumpy he was and knew McGee had to be feeling something over being the one that handed Tony the letter.

'McGee?'

'Yes, Boss?'

Gibbs glanced up from the papers on his desk, his expression unreadable. 'Nice work yesterday.'

'Thanks you, Boss…' McGee replied a little stunned. A thick silence ensued and he ducked his head back down. To his surprise Gibbs spoke again and it was all he could do to keep his mouth closed.

'You alright,' Gibbs said, allowing a small pause, 'Tim?'

There was a short beat that was filled with McGee's bewilderment, then he seemingly tried to compensate by jamming a single sentence with as many disorderly and unnecessary words as he could.

'Uh – Um, yes. Yes, Boss. F-fine, Sir. Sorry, Gibbs, Boss, Gibbs. Err."

Gibbs allowed the corner of his mouth to turn up in the slightest, causing a flush of pink embarrassment to touch the Junior Agent's ears.

McGee was saved from the trouble of restoring the moment by the arrival of Kate. She had gone home and freshened up but the rings under her eyes were the telltale signs of her exhaustion.

'Morning.'

'Hey,' Gibbs replied, studying her as she tucked her backpack behind her chair and placed her handbag on the desk. The last time he had seen her she had been a blubbering puddle in Ducky's arms. It had shocked him to see one of the strongest women he had encountered so emotional. 'How's the cold?' He asked cautiously.

Kate chuckled emotionlessly and raised an eyebrow as she looked Gibbs straight in the eye. 'I'm fine.'

'I thought I told you to take the day, I didn't expect you here.' Gibbs pressed.

'I don't need a day; _I'm fine_, my cold has pretty much cleared up.' Kate said, her voice raising a little. 'It's not me you're supposed to be worried about!'

'… When did you get home?' Gibbs asked her, unfazed by her attitude.

'Early this morning; I stayed the night.'

Gibbs stayed silent but continued to watch his agent. Kate felt as though she was a specimen under a microscope, she squirmed under his gaze and looked back up from her handbag. Gibbs stared at her.

'Abby is with him now.' He stated. Kate nodded. 'McGee visited earlier.'

McGee looked up and over at his boss, wondering how much Gibbs knew about his squeamish visit, or the fact that his practically sprinted out the place after fifteen minutes. His stomach rolled when he thought he caught a flicker of sympathy in the older mans eyes. What was the world coming to? Sympathy from Gibbs? Next he'll be gaining civility from Tony.

McGee had been sitting listening in is chair as the conversation had slid back and forth between Kate and Gibbs. Polite, consistent conversation! He couldn't recall a time where Gibbs had spoken so many words in the same day. Or so many _kind_ words… ever. From the expression on Kate's face it seemed she was as perplexed as he was.

'Kate?'

'Gibbs?'

'Ducky's taking the day.'

Kate sighed and glanced over at McGee who looked at her with wide eyes, then back to Gibbs, then back at her. 'Tell him I'm very happy for him.' She forced out.

'Will do.'

And then Gibbs dropped it, much to the relief of the two other agents occupying the bullpen. They were almost glad DiNozzo was absent; he would have had a meltdown if he was there to encounter Gibbs, his role model in this worryingly foreign condition – normal.

Their pondering was shortened by the shrill ringing of Gibbs' phone.

'Gibb- Abby, Abby! Slow down!' Gibbs said, rising in his seat and causing the other two to mimic his action, eyes focused on his facial expression, listening with baited breath.

**Thank you, thank you for your reviews. I want to give you all individual virtual imaginary hugs for all your polite, courtious and non offensive comments. What's that thing where you put a little '*' then you write what everyone should imagine you doing, then you put another '*'? Yeah? No? I dunno?**

***Awkward stranger-danger hugs to all my friendly fanfiction freaks.* -('Freaks' being in the most affectionate and loving context possible.)**

**DO THE REVIEW THING AGAIN!**


	4. Chapter 4

**! BEFORE YOU READ THIS CHAPTER:**

**This is my formal and sincere apology for a few things-**

**1. The medical-everything in this chapter. I've been Wikipedia-ing myself out while writing this chapter and toward the end I got bored, confused and lazy. SO, if you're a brilliant Fanfiction reader _and_ have a medical degree, or just enjoy being a smartass, _please _help out. I will most certainly go back and fix it up, since I personally hate reading stories where so-and-so has been shot twenty times, hung and beheaded but miraculously survives their lifesaving hip-replacement to have a baby with Gibbs. You know? I'm fifteen and I know that's not correctamundo.**

**2. This chapter. Yeah. So, what happened was I was like 'I know! I'll be really out-there and throw them off with the old cliff-hanger-oo', and then I threw myself right off with that cliff-hanger. So if you, like me, was expecting something totally different, I understand and feel your pain and am open to the throwing of virtual rotten fruit. Seriously, I uploaded the last chapter, sat there for a second and was like; 'Um shit.'**

**3. These obscene little 'Author notes'. I hate them as well. Plus I never read them, um, since I don't care. So kudos to you.**

Abby snapped shut her mobile and hurriedly moved back to stand at the glass wall of the isolation chamber. She pushed up against the glass until her nose was touching its cold surface. Abby ducked and weaved about on the opposite side of the glass, trying to maintain her view as nurses and doctors swarmed around her friend, getting in the line of her vision. She whipped her head around quickly, searching for an unoccupied doctor or nurse to explain to her what was happening. She was reluctant to tear her gaze away from her stricken friend. Besides, there was nobody in the corridors surrounding her; everybody had seemed to have managed to pack themselves into the chamber while she was the only one forced out.

She had long forgotten about controlling her emotions and she had lost her flimsy grip on her tears already. She fanned at her face as if she was trying to dry the tears, or push them back into their ducts but they just kept on rolling out.

Only moments ago had she been sitting at Tony's side, rambling softly about anything and everything that popped into her head as she tried her best to comfort him. He had been drifting between sleep and consciousness ever since she had encouraged him to relax. After McGee left it seemed like he had been forcing himself to focus and respond to her to prove to her that he was alright, trying to reassure her in some way. She could see how much he was struggling and his fight against nature was just making things worse for him. In the end she almost had to order him to relax, telling him that he didn't have to prove anything to her.

She had stopped short of her rambling when Tony's breathing began to drown her out; it had been growing louder and harsher for a while. It was soon accompanied by an orchestra of blaring machines. Initially when it had first begun to get bad she had been worried and the nurse had to focus on getting Abby's hyperventilation under control before attending to her real patient. They had upped his oxygen and told Abby not to worry, but this time it was all wrong, this had to be something to be genuinely worried about. No sooner had she made that observation then a nurse appeared beside her, her brows locked in a deep and definite crease.

Tony had opened his eyes up a slither and stared up at Abby, his chest heaving. Abby patted his arm and murmured some encouraging words before turning her head to speak to the nurse. He looked up at her expression which was one of wide-eyed, innocent terror.

"It's alright, Tony. Try and go back to sleep, we'll handle this." Abby said. Her attention was immediately drawn back to him as she felt his hand grasp her wrist and squeeze tightly; she looked back down at him and was startled to see that he was staring up at her with wide panicked eyes. His breathing grew harsher and the machines wailed louder, the nurse quickly took control of the situation.

She fiddled with the dials and monitors surrounding Tony, silencing them so she could concentrate and spun the dial on the oxygen tank. The nurse looked up appreciatively as two other nurses entered the room and hurried to the side of the bed. She leaned down and tried to speak to her patient who was growing more anxious and agitated by the second. She placed a firm and authoritative hand on his chest as he tried weakly to lever himself up and spoke to him clearly over the hissing of the mask.

"Tony, I really need you to calm right down for me, focus on taking deep, slow breaths."

Tony rolled his head from side to side across the pillow and groped wildly at the mask that obscured his face; his finger tips were horribly blue.

"We need to take an arterial blood gas!"

"He's not getting enough oxygen!"

"His sats are dropping!"

Abby blinked her eyes and in an instant the room seemed to be filled with more people, including Doctor Pitt who was standing at the foot of the bed and seemed to be instigating an extremely vocal debate with the group of nurses. It was at this point that Abby was guided blindly by a sea of roughly pushing and shoving hands that saw her right out of the chamber and on the other side of the glass, into the situation she was in currently.

* * *

Gibbs strolled quickly into the hospital; Kate and McGee were close at his heels, performing bouts of half jogs and skips to keep up with him. He propelled himself into the front desk and leaned over it with and expression that had the receptionist uttering a quick apology into her phone before she dropped it onto the receiver.

"Anthony DiNozzo, he was recently moved from the isolation chamber?"

The receptionist nodded and searched the name on her computer, having the results in less than five seconds.

"He was moved to the ICU not too long ago, that's second floor. There will be somebody up there to direct you."

Gibbs was off and moving without another look at the woman, Kate gave her an apologetic look before taking off after her boss, sliding into the elevator as the doors closed. There was about twenty short seconds of chocking tension as the elevator lumbered its way up the shaft. The deafening silence was only broken by the repetitive cheer of the elevator music which seemed to be mocking them with its merry tune. The carriage stopped and the race was on again, the trio all marched out of the elevator in unison but came to a skidding halt as they almost bowled over a familiar looking forensic scientist.

"Abby!"

"Oh! Gibbs!" She said, throwing herself into his open arms. He was distracted though and gazed with alertly over her head, scanning the area before pulling Abby back and looking her dead in the eye. Kate spoke before he could.

"Abby, what is going on?"

Abby nodded and compiled herself, sniffing into the back of her hand. She relayed what had happened tearfully; Tony's breathing getting worse, his obvious anxiety and agitation, the worsening cyanosis on his fingertips and the screaming of the machines as they indicated his blood oxygen saturation. She choked out the string of events that would be burnt into the back of her eye lids for a long-time yet, haunting her whenever she shut her eyes.

She broke off at the appearance of Tony's doctor, who scanned the ICU room before laying eyes on them, he hurried over immediately.

"What happened?" Gibbs demanded, angry that he had let himself succumb to a false sense of security the day before, naively believing that his agent would recover without any more tribulations.

Pitt nodded and ushered them over and away from the entrance of the elevator, he looked up into the wide eyes of the four people and took a deep breath before beginning.

"As you all know, Tony's exposure to the Y-Pestis caused him to develop severe pneumonia which we have been progressively treating with antibiotics. We were cautious in our treatment but were always aware of the very real possibility of Tony contracting something we call ARDS or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, which he unfortunately has. What this means is that his lungs have become inflamed as a bodily response in fighting off the infection. The great inflammation in his lungs has impaired the gas exchange process; the critical intake of oxygen and the ejection of carbon dioxide. It has also affected the drainage of fluid in his lungs, causing them to become stiff, making it harder for him to draw breath.

This resulted in the development of hypoxemia, meaning his blood oxygen levels are incredibly low, this can lead to multiple organ failure and death if untreated."

"Oh," Gibbs said, uncharacteristically blinking at the technical explanation, "so how do you treat it?"

"I'm afraid that Tony's respiratory distress is too severe to consider placing him on an oxygen Bi-Pap machine. Since his lungs can no longer support him, we are going to have to intubate: mechanical ventilation."

"... A ventilator?" Kate asked her face pale.

"Yes, think of it like we're taking the strain off his lungs while we treat the infection so we can get him back on his feet." Pitt said, none of the team buying his sad attempt at spreading a positive attitude. He shook his head and continued on.

"ARDS is an incredibly serious condition and can trigger things like Sepsis and SIR syndrome. We will be watching intently for any signs of these or any signs of evolution or progression in the ARDS."

The team looked back at him and he could almost see the fragments of their hopes for Tony's easy and speedy recuperation and recovery fracture in a striking display and cascade in a delicate wave onto the waiting room floor. He continued on with his compulsory duty of delivering the news.

"He is being placed on the ventilator as we speak and though I cannot be sure, he will most probably remain on it for the next eight to ten days depending on his development. He will be sedated for the moment until we can wean him off when he is ready.

"I'm very sorry that both you and Tony have to suffer this setback. Do you have any questions? Otherwise I really should head back in and supervise."

Abby suddenly found her voice from where she was wedged tightly under McGee's shoulder, wrapped up in her black studded jumper.

"When can we see him?"

"I will either come out or send somebody out to notify you when we are through with the procedures. The ICU is very strict on their visitation regulations, a maximum of two people at the one time, I'm sure you understand." Pitt said and was met with silence from the grim group. "I want to reassure you that we are doing everything possible for him, if there's nothing else I have to be getting back."

Pitt breathed a sigh and turned to make his way out of the small waiting room, just as he reached the exit he felt a firm grip on his arm and turned around to face Special Agent Gibbs. They were out of earshot of the other three and the doctor couldn't help feeling intimidated as the sharp blue eyes pierced a hole right through to his soul. He looked back at the older man and took in the finer details he had not noticed from a few paces back. Gibbs gave off the appearance of a callused and abrasive man, authoritative and impenetrable but up close Pitt could see through the deceptive exterior. There was the fading smile creases of the past visible in the corner of his eyes, similar crinkles rested around the edges of his lips. From Pitt's clear view there was the unmistakable mixture of care and affection, overrode by the worry, anxiousness and fear that stewed in the blue depths.

He could tell this man really cared about his agent, more than a relationship you would expect between a boss to their employee. Tony was lucky, somewhere Pitt could feel how devoted and loyal this guy was, and it had to be comforting that Tony had a man like this watching his back. He had a feeling he knew what Gibbs wanted -a bad feeling, but there was not a speck inside of him that could deny this man the truth.

"What are his chances?" It was a simple question.

"... Not good." It was a simple answer.

**Go read the thing up the top, it explains it.**

**But otherwise -you all know the drill, review it and fill me with inextinguishable happiness, woo-hoo.**


	5. Chapter 5

Gibbs stood by the side of the bed, one hand resting on the cool metal railing. He shifted his weight self-consciously from one foot to the other; awkwardly glancing about the eerily still room, unsure of how to behave. Everything had been so different just one day ago and he couldn't help longing for the simplicity it had held in comparison to the present. Back in the day when DiNozzo had that precious fifteen percent tucked up his sleeve. Back that one day.

The perfunctory hissing of the melancholic ventilator steadily continued at a soothing pace, it was accompanied by the consistent beeping of the forlorn heart monitor to Gibbs' left. The room otherwise was eerily stagnant, the dull walls neutralizing the dizzyingly floral communal furniture which was almost looking in worse shape than the room's patient.

DiNozzo was lying stretched on the bed, his mouth chocked with the protruding tube. Monitors and machines sat solemnly by his side and a drip was set up next to his bed.

Gibbs couldn't look at his face; his lax and vulnerable features caused a ball of unexplainable discomfort to swell up in his gut. It was unsettling to see his agent, one of the most skilled he had ever worked with, undoubtedly his favorite, looking so weak and exposed. He focused on Tony's hands instead, which looked as though they had been laid out intentionally on the blanket. The machine appeared to be performing it's job correctly, DiNozzo's fingers were now lacking their previous uncanny blue appearance.

Gibbs' stubborn mindedness had provided no give on his opinion of the doctor's advice. His current attitude towards anything or anyone in a white coat was not helping either. He felt so entirely helpless; he was in a position with no control whatsoever. He was so unaccustomed and inexperienced with this type of situation; he had no idea how to react. The doctor's advice was still utterly senseless, stupid and insensitive, almost on the verge of insulting. Adding to his growing feeling of helplessness was the knowledge that try as he might he could not think of any better guidance. What else could he do? It wasn't likely that taking on Tony's medical needs himself would end any other way other than fatally, but what more was there?

Gibbs wasn't really up on the mysteries of the universe, he didn't usually trouble them and in return they seemed to leave him well enough alone. He had given up years ago on questioning and wondering after a certain rough period in his life. So now he just believed in people. It was so much more comforting than believing that some divine power was responsible for the wreckage of his lost family. It was also easier knowing that the subject of his revenge was not immortal.

Nothing in his past had ever been solved simply by thinking positively; nothing was ever resolved by acting or pretending that everything was okay; it's always actions. Actions were going to get them out of this one. Although they were going to be relying heavily on the doctor's actions, the teams' were also just as important. They would have to support Tony through this ordeal, and they would have to support each other. He knew as much as they were going to attempt to conceal it, this was going to be difficult for the team. Maybe there was some truth behind the doctor's words; acting optimistically in front of certainly one member might do some good. There was the possibility that he might frighten Kate and Tim with positivity, but it was also worth a shot. He might consider letting them in on the best kept secret of the centaury, one only Abby, Ducky and occasionally Tony understood: he was not always an enormously calloused, grouchy, grumbley git.

'Action' was his new plan of attack and he was going to begin immediately. Pitt had encouraged him to talk to Tony who, under the sedation might still have some degree of hearing. Well, there wasn't much harm that could do and Gibbs was willing to try almost anything. Either Tony wouldn't hear him or he would. It was simple.

Gibbs swallowed and cast another look around the room and through the glass window of the ICU. The nurses walked purposefully past and occupied the nurse's station but none appeared to be heading his way. He didn't want to risk being interrupted by a stranger, or chiefly by a friend. He turned back when he was satisfied the cost was clear. He moved up the bed until he was leaning forward near the pillow.

"Tony," He said, gazing down, "There's no way in hell I'm having McGee walk in on me performing a Love Story hospital scene with you. Yeah, I've seen it, and it'd be awkward for more reasons than just the fact you're not my wife. So I'm saying this once, and once only, so listen up."

Gibbs paused before starting softly, staring ahead at the far wall.

"I don't appreciate having to tell you a second time. This time you'd better obey or you'll be seeing your ass fired... Tony, you will not die." Gibbs paused and took a breath, "Do – not - die. You got it?"

His only reply was the whistling of the ventilator and Tony's measured breaths. It was enough to suit him though.

"You've now got me dealing with an over emotional Abby, DiNozzo. Remind me to headslap you right back here once your better- as punishment for upsetting her."

McGee had managed to coax a reluctant Abby from Tony's beside, where she had wrapped her arms tightly around the safety rails, her head resting forward on the mattress as she stared hawk-like at the mechanical rise and fall of Tony's chest. She now clung to McGee's arm in much the same way that she had the railing as he steadily lead her to the hospital cafeteria. Gibbs was in with Tony now, any idiot could have seen that Gibbs wanted some privacy with DiNozzo and so McGee had tactfully left.

McGee deposited the forensic scientist at a cafe table and leant over to speak to her. She was paler then usual, paler than he thought could be possible, and he hadn't missed the slight shaking of her hands.

"Abbs, what can I get you?" He asked carefully, she simply shook her head and looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap. "Abby, come on. When was the last time you ate something?"

"I'm fine, McGee. Not hungry." She replied in a restricted tone. McGee swallowed forcefully and nodded.

"Well I'm going to get you something anyway; I'll be just a minute."

Tim's mind was not on the appealing arrangement of salad sandwiches that were in the fridge before him. He couldn't seem to configure his thoughts or emotions. They were all assembled in a disjointed jumble that was swimming in a pit in his stomach. A repulsive mixture of anxiety, nervousness, fear and doubt, the morning's egg and bacon roll, worry, angst and bile were being whisked around inside him, threatening to make their way up his throat.

He hadn't been on the team for all that long, but he had been there long enough. Long enough to know he had absolutely no idea what to do. Everybody was so disconcertingly out of character, it was scary. Gibbs had turned into an unfamiliar compassionate monster, Kate was a worried wreck, Abby appeared to have been struck dumb, and Tony was lying prone in a hospital bed. He had no idea what he should be doing, how he should be acting. Who should he console and how? He could only stand about. His mouth either overproducing an impeding amount of saliva, or suddenly bone dry whenever he was thrust into the spotlight or replied upon. Whenever those times came he wished he could just crawl out of his own skin and just hide somewhere, preferably with a good WiFi connection. At times like these being a federal agent felt like a really bad idea, he found himself regretting not paying more attention in pottery class, or wishing he'd followed through with his attempted career in poetry.

McGee made his way back to the table carrying a blue tray. He set it down gently and took the seat opposite Abby who was staring blankly at the table in front of her.

"They had no Caff Pows, I got you the strongest coffee I could, there's sugar here too if you want but it's already got five in it."

Abby gave him a weak smile of appreciation and took the cup, holding it to heat the palms of her hands.

"I also got you a cookie- it's got multicoloured smarties. Thought it might, you know, cheer you up, maybe a little..."

"Thanks, McGee."

There was a pause of silence which was terrifying considering he was in the company of Abby. Luckily it wasn't long before she broke it, even if it was in an emotion laced monotone.

"What are we going to do, McGee?" She asked, he remained silent, "How could this happen?"

"I don't know,"

"Real helpful, McGee thanks. Nobody seems to know much. "

"Abby..."

"He was supposed to get better!"

"Abby..."

"Even Gibbs told him to get better!"

"I know."

"He disobeyed Gibbs, McGee! Gibbs!"

"I know, Abbs."

"How could he do this to us? He never disobeys a direct order, _especially _from Gibbs. And now he picks now to start? What the hell did he think he was doing? Tony knows never to do this to me, ever! I mean, I know it's apart of the job, but he's always promised... How could he be so... so selfish?"

"Selfish? Abby, I don't think-"

"No, no, no. Not selfish. It's just- I don't know, McGee. Everything is so _wrong._"

"I know, Abby."

"Sorry, Tim. Not selfish, forget I said that."

"It's okay." McGee said, reaching out to touch her hand as she calmed down a little. Her bottom lip was trembling and it looked as though she might give way to another cascade of tears, which wouldn't have surprised him. She took a deep breathe and composed herself, looking up into Tim's eyes.

"No. It's not. It's really, really not."

Abby sniffed and dabbed carefully at the corners of her eyes with the tips of her fingernails in an attempt not to damage her eye makeup. McGee figured she hadn't yet realized that it was already smudged halfway down her face, striped with tear streaks. He decided not to mention it.

"What's going to happen now?" She asked miserably. McGee took a moment to answer. He had to be strong for Abby; she needed him and now was one of those times he had to provide that support.

"What's going to happen now is that you and I are going to sit here and finish these coffees. Then we'll go and find Ducky, we'll find out exactly 'what's going to happen now', 'what we're going to do', 'how this could happen' and absolutely anything and everything else."

He paused and Abby gave him a little nod, he continued gently.

"Then we'll go and visit Tony for a little bit before you head on home,"

At this Abby opened her mouth to protest, she had no intention of going home until Tony was home as well. Tim held up a hand to silence her.

"Kate's already gone home, Abbs. You're going to have something to eat and get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll have a chat to the director and see what we can do about your working hours and visiting Tony. Does that sound alright?"

"That sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan, my friend."

The two of them looked up from their place at the table to see Ducky standing there. The older man looked tired and worn and he plonked himself down with a sigh.

Abby gave a small whimpery sigh of "Oh, Ducky!" and reached across to hug him as best as she could from their seated positions at the table. He returned the hug and gave Tim a nod from Abby's shoulder. Abby moved back and instantly Ducky was pinned under two sets of fervent eyes, impatient for information. Ducky gave a nod and adjusted his glasses before opening his mouth to begin the tedious explanation.

**SORRY. You guys waited for absolute yonks and all I had to offer was that.**

**Firstly I had heaps of homework, then after that I wasn't all the motivated to write anything much. I finally wrote something up and just when I was getting round to uploading my computer conked it (dragging with it the rest of my homework). So finally I uploaded a chapter. A horrible, _horrible_ chapter.**

**Thanks to those few that reviewed. You don't understand how one little sadistic comment can send my ego soaring. Just to know somebody _read it_. You can almost watch the self loathing lowering and the esteem on the rise, right up until I remember that I'm hiding in my bedroom secretly writing a continuation on of a TV show episode that aired five years ago by myself on a Saturday night.**

**Night. XX**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! SLOW, SLOW, SLOW UPDATE.**

Kate sat in an armchair at the foot of Tony's bed, her feet pressed up against the guard railing and the chair tilted back precariously, her arms folded comfortably over her chest. She had given up on avoiding the infamous 'That Chair in Tony's Room', and the mysterious orange substance that was crusted on the underside of the cushion, the tattered holes, split wooden leg or the perplexing way it stuck to human flesh. She had a theory that the hospital used the chair- an obvious health and danger hazard- for profit, to create more injured, sick and poisoned patients to admit.

It was four thirty in the afternoon; Kate had received permission from Gibbs to leave early to visit Tony. The team had no current cases and were just dismally sifting their way through discarded files and overdue paperwork.

It had been three days since Tony had been placed on the ventilator and he hadn't gone without a visitor for more than six hours. Somebody was always dropping by in the early hours of the morning before they were due at work, spending their lunch break at his bedside or mysteriously vanishing from the squad room mid afternoon, only to be relocated hours later at Tony's side.

"-Anyway," Kate was murmuring to her fingernails as she picked at them, in a low voice, "you really need to get back to work, it's only been a few days and it's already ridiculous. I remember this one time I saw this thing on TV where they showed you what would happen to this ecosystem if like, one of the species' suddenly disappeared. They showed how it would affect each individual factor until the whole thing was _totally_ screwed up. You don't really appreciate what earthworms do for the environment until they all vanish, you know? It's kind of like that. You're liked the worm, and now you're not at work everything has gotten really weird."

"At first it was kind of funny, McGee came out of his shell a little now I guess he's not so threatened by you. It's getting annoying now; he's gotten all confident, but at the same time all clingy and irritating. I can't keep him away from my desk, he keeps wanted to be reassured or acknowledged or something… Hmm, I have no idea who that reminds me of…"

"I keep worrying he's going to set Gibbs off again, he was pissed beyond belief when this all begun. Tony, you think you've seen Gibbs thoroughly pissed, but you haven't seen _nothing_. He was like a walking… I dunno, but it was bad. But now, I have no idea what's gotten into him but he's got all…normal… But not 'Gibbs normal', he's 'Normal-normal'."

"Of course it's really taking a toll on me, you know. It's horrible; I don't know what to do! I've _actually_ been getting all my work done and I've once even managed to leave work on time. It's so weird not having some childish forty-year-old throwing pieces of his lunch at me. I don't know how I'm going to cope."

Kate paused and took a breath and a break from her monologue. She had been saying anything and everything that popped into her head for the past hour, reminding herself a little of Abby in the way she rambled. She wasn't focusing on volume or clarity, just keeping what she hoped was a soothing continuous stream of words rolling.

So far most of her time spent alone with Tony she had filled with her own incessant internal dialogue. She felt like it helped in some way, she was letting her partner know she was still there and supporting him. Kate had pretty much run out of things to say by the end of the first day and was now content with just repeating herself if need be.

Kate looked up at the sound of the glass door rolling open and smiled at the nurse as she approached the bed.

"Hey Kate, how's it going?"

"Hi Nola. Not too bad, you?" Kate replied, her voice feeling too loud after the serenity the room had held before.

"Oh, it's been a long day, I'll say that much." Nola said to Kate's understanding nod, "Now how're you going Tony? Kate keeping you entertained?"

The nurse moved up the side of her bed and went through her routines, humming as she did so. The woman was in her late fifties, her face crevassed beautifully with deep lines of happiness. She was Kate's favorite of all the nurses and seemed to emit an empathetic glow.

"I think he's getting a little restless, he was better after you gave him that something last time."

"Has he now? Hmm, well I can't give him anything to calm him just yet; it's a bit soon after his last dose."

Kate nodded and looked down at her partner.

Her eyes trained his hair which in some parts was plastered to his head while in others it was sticking up at all angles. She glanced down and admired his hands and fingers, dimmed by the fact that they were strapped in hospital restraints, preventing him from removing the tube.

Tony was continuing to shock and defy the medical staff at the hospital with his renowned and incredible talent of taking the most difficult route possible. He had managed to disregard their medical textbooks again, this time proving his worth against the sedatives administered. Apparently he was being given enough to knock down several reasonably sized horses, but that wasn't stopping his sporadically spaced, futile attempts at swimming to the surface.

"How's he doing?" Kate asked the nurse.

"Not too much of a change, his temperature is holding steady up there but that's nothing to be too concerned about. He's not up to the stage where we can start attempting to wean him off the vent; we're just waiting him out now. It's a slow process."

"Hmm," Kate nodded absently, her eyes not leaving her partner, "Patience- not really Tony's forte."

"Well maybe he can use that to his advantage, he's been full of surprises this one." Nola said cheerfully, and then caught sight of Kate's expression. "Hey, honey. It's alright, you're alright."

Kate gave a shaky laugh and looked down, trying to control and conceal her emotions in front of the woman that she hardly knew. Nola placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Kate, honey, you're doing such a great job. You really are, I haven't known you for all that long but you and your friends have already made quite an impression at the nurse's station. We're impressed, and a little jealous that Tony gets to have such great friends."

Kate gave a smile and a small nod.

"It's so dumb," She said softly, "We're trained federal agents. It's our job to be the ones that run towards the threats; the bombs, the maniacs, the missiles… It's our job to have chemically altered medieval diseases sent to us in the mail… It's just…I don't know. You know it's going to happen- you expect it, but you're never really prepared, you think you are, you think you can but you can't really prepare. Everything is always so uncertain... It's the uncertainty…"

Nola listened and watched as Kate tried to sort through her thoughts as they came out her mouth. There was a comfortable silence before the nurse replied.

"Kate, I can't say I know what it's like to be a federal agent, because I don't. I work here as an ICU nurse and I've only ever seen a gun on CSI. Realize that I do understand what you're feeling and dealing with. Working on this floor you get to see a whole lot of coming and going uncertainty, so if you ever find out what the future holds, I'd sure as hell like to know- it would save a lot of pain, worry and trouble from a number of people.

"Please stop me if I'm out of line, but I think you seeing this from the wrong angle. Yes, you're all co-workers and you obviously all value your jobs, but it's also apparent that you're all good friends. Now, Tony is your friend and it is certainly no weakness -actually it shows a lot about you as a person- to feel what you are feeling about this whole situation. It's terrible situation at that. I see families and friends everyday in positions similar to yours, and I have to say that you're little family is doing quite a job."

Kate looked up at the older woman and gave her a smile, a little taken aback at what she had said.

"Thanks, Nola."

Nola patted Kate's shoulder and pulled her into a quick hug before releasing her and picking up her clipboard.

"Anytime, Kate."

* * *

"Hey,"

Kate looked up from the trashy magazine that was spread across her lap.

"Hey, Abby,"

The goth walked into the room slowly, her platforms causing echoes to ripple across the vinyl floor. She lifted a foot and dropped it to the floor with a resounding 'clomp' before moving on to the next step. She was draped to her ankles in some sort of cape, black velvet with a studded drawstring that tied around the neck and a scattered variety of pictures of horror sewn across it. Kate raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

"Tim said you left early, and that you'd be here."

"Yeah, well I thought Tony might like some company."

"And I thought you might like some as well, seeing as Tony's been being especially _boring_ this week... but I'll forgive him." She said pointedly, turning her head to face the bed and speaking in her best admonishing tone. There was a beat before Abby continued, "Hungry?" she asked, whisking her hand out from beneath cloak dramatically and in a flourish she flung it over her shoulder, revealing what she had carefully concealed inside.

Abby was holding a stack of takeaway containers and a carefully balanced block of chocolate sitting top. She carefully set them on Tony's bed proudly.

"I knew there was a reason I loved you!" Kate said, hopping up from the chair, causing the magazine to slip to the floor, "How did you manage to get these past the Trunchbald at reception?"

"Oh Kate, you underestimate me, and I have to say I'm a little offended." She said with a sly grin, and then gave the discarded cloak a prod with the steel cap on her boot, "You didn't actually think I'd wear this thing out in public without a valid reason? God, it's hideous! Some desperate guy gave it to me as a gift or something years back. I was seriously trying hard to keep the contents of my stomach where they belong on the way in here; I could feel Goth Fairies dying slow painful deaths all around the world. I could've been arrested or something..."

"By who, the Fashion police?"

"Look, we've been over this! They've never scientifically proved Santa Claus doesn't exist, same applies for the Fashion Police."

"What? So they sneak down your chimney at night and rid you of your Crocs?"

"Uh huh, and metallic spandex pants, eugh."

"Alright- one step too far. You're going to put me off my food." Kate said with a smile and reached forward to snag one of the takeaway containers and a fork before digging in, Abby quickly followed suit.

"You are my absolute saviour, Abbs. I'm so sick of the cardboard they sell around here."

"Yeah, I know! They don't even sell Caff Pow's!"

"Um, well, I think you can get a Diet Coke down the hall..."

"Pff- _Diet_? Seriously? Sure it's got no sugar, but I'm fairly certain the substitute is designed to kill you thirty years prematurely. So yeah, diet. But healthy? Hmm?"

"Point taken."

The two finished their food and stuffed the empty containers into the small bin at Tony's bedside, carefully hiding them under a scrunched up wad of the abundant supply of empty coffee cups that were endlessly scattered across the room. They then both pushed the armchair right up to the edge of the bed and squeezed in side by side, they sat so that their legs were both splayed across Tony's on the end of the bed and used Abby's cloak, which now smelt slightly of Chinese takeaway, as a blanket. They cracked open the chocolate and split it fifty-fifty, chatting to one another and most probably torturing the non-responsive Tony, with their long deep and meaningful conversation about the Cinematic greats of all time. They stayed that way for hours before eventually falling asleep.

**Aw shucks guys. You're all really cute. I'm looking about here and am noticing some reoccurring patterns in the messages and reviews; Authors Note's are apparently liked a little more than the actual story... Hmm... That's actually a bit of a relief. Right now a perfect future is looking like one where I just ditch this story and finish it with a few chapters worth of apologetic authors notes. It'll be a lot easier and really quite exciting for you lot. It'll be like a 'choose-your-own-adventure' story, except without any options, guidelines or adventures! Unusual, unique. I'll be opening up a sparkly never ending wonder world of opportunities for you individuals- a portal to each of your own imaginations! HOW EXCITING! Generous, I know. No need to thank me.**

**Look, I'll see how it goes. See you in the next chapter. **


	7. Chapter 7

McGee sat rigidly in his office chair, staring intently at the screen before him. He was hyperconscious of his body in every possible way, monitoring every movement and function like his life depended on it. He held his neck stiffly and fixed his eyes in place, breathing in short, shallow and cautiously inaudible breaths. He sat up as straight as heavenly possible with his feet firmly pressed onto the floor. His fingers worked like a whirlwind on the keypad as he desperately tried to remain focused on the task at hand, cursing his mind for obsessing over the unimportant. But he couldn't help it; his boss' head was hovering mere inches over his shoulder.

McGee knew that the audibility of his breathing was the last thing that was on Gibbs' mind. Gibbs wasn't actually focusing on him at all. He had his undivided attention absorbed on McGee's computer screen as he displayed the critical information.

What Kate didn't understand as she lounged behind her desk, and what Gibbs hadn't realized while he was engrossed in the data, was that this was McGee's first real chance to prove himself whilst not standing in Tony's shadow.

They had caught the case of a disappearance of a large sum of money off the Marine Base in Quantico. Everything had unraveled miraculously in the past hour. The indifferent attitude of a co-worker of the deceased had proved a reason for McGee to hack their personal computer which they appeared so overprotective and partial to. Tim had unlocked the files in a sheer hour of skilful, to some extent artful computer techniques, which by some miracle had revealed the precise solution to their case.

Of course McGee had solved cases before, contributing and occasionally being the one to discover the final, concluding clue, but this was his first case on Gibbs' team without DiNozzo lurking about.

The imperceptible connection between the Lead and the Senior Field agent perplexed McGee. He understood the loyalty, admiration and faith that DiNozzo had in his boss. It would be difficult to find a person who did not admire and respect the older man, even if some of that was out of the terror he enforced. What he could not understand was the patience, approval and trust that Gibbs bestowed upon Tony. He did not understand it at all. The guy was simply a menace; a constant childish distraction that had by some miracle, gained the position of Gibbs' right hand man.

It was not to say that Tony was inadequate. He was a federal agent and he did his job well. He solved puzzles, saved lives and put the baddies behind bars. Yet McGee did the exact same thing, just that he wasn't a juvenile, immature, attention-seeker. He just simply could not understand why DiNozzo's show-off, inappropriate behavior was deemed valid in Gibbs' books. McGee's job description was exactly the same as Tony's. The only difference was that he performed his work quietly and conscientiously and with the latest, impeccable technology. Whilst Tony plinked lazily at his keyboard, only calling on McGee when he could not locate the 'Shift' button, or when Google wasn't loading.

What frustrated him even more was the fact that he could not ignore the jealousy he felt; as much as he wanted to deny it and suppress it.

So now McGee didn't quite know what he was trying to achieve. Possibly a moment of success in Gibbs' eyes, that wasn't downgraded by a demeaning nickname or a spit-ball in the ear. He wanted to prove to Gibbs that he was just as good as Tony, he could use technology to solve cases, instead of relying on ancient movies to draw ideas or conclusions from.

Gibbs straightened up swiftly and looked over at Kate who now appeared slightly more alert. McGee looked up expectantly at his boss, his eyes wide as he sat staring at his turned back.

"Is Patterson still being held down in interrogation?" Gibbs asked with a sense of urgency.

"Erm no," Kate said, checking her watch and looking worried. "I told them to release him about ten minutes ago."

"Dammit." Was all Gibbs uttered before he took off out of the bullpen and to the elevator, leaving the duo sitting hesitantly in their seats, unsure of what to do. He jabbed at the button furiously a number of times, then raced off in the direction of the stairwell.

Kate watched as Gibbs hurriedly rounded the corner and disappeared down the stairs. She turned her head back to find McGee's only inches from her own. Kate sat for a couple of seconds, nose to nose with her co-worker who appeared unfazed or ignorant to the obvious breach of the universal rule of 'personal bubble'. Kate rolled her chair back a half a meter and folded her arms.

"You think he's mad?" McGee asked, straightening up and wringing his hands.

"Um, no. Why?"

"I dunno, he just seemed a little mad to me. So I guess you didn't think he seemed all that mad? I don't know about you but I have this bad feeling that he's mad at me." Tim said, stumbling over his sentence.

"Tim, why on earth would he be mad at you? You pretty much just solved the entire case."

"Yeah, exactly!"

"Yeah, what exactly?"

"Well he didn't say anything. He just walked out."

"He sprinted out in search of a free-walking criminal."

"He didn't say anything!"

"When have you ever known him to ever say anything anyway? He's a grade A functioning mute, McGee. That's common knowledge"

"But doesn't he usually say something? You know, when Tony does something?"

Kate blew out a breath and gave an exasperated shake of her head. How did she know that this was what it was going to knuckle down to? She had been naive to think that the stern talking to she had given the junior agent the previous morning had taken any effect.

"Tim- "

"I could swear he does, he usually does something, or says something…"

"Well I'll hit you over the head if it'll make you feel any better; it might even make you shut it for a couple of minutes, Tim." Kate said, getting irate. "We've been over this, McGee. Over and over and over and over this."

"I know, but this time feels different."

"McGee, look." She sighed, "I'm not going to be repeating this, so listen. Yes, this time _is _different. It's different to all the other times you've helped out with cases over the time you've been on the team. It's different because Tony's sick, he's not here. That's affecting the way we work as a team, it's affecting the way that Gibbs leads the team. _It's different_. You're focusing way too much on trying impress or please Gibbs, McGee, you really need to stop it. It's hard enough with only three of us here to deal with all the work; we all need to focus on what we're supposed to be doing. Gibbs isn't blind, he isn't stupid and he doesn't take things for granted. I thought you would have understood the laws of Gibbs by now; Gibbs is an investigator, Tim, he is paid to be observant. Just because he isn't equally as gifted in the communication department doesn't mean he doesn't notice and understand what's going on."

McGee was silent, his cheeks flushed a fascinating beetroot and he was suddenly infatuated by his shoes. He opened his mouth only to swallow down a lump of air as he sought for an appropriate response.

"It's fine, Tim. You just need to relax a little, okay it's-"

"Kate! Tim! Where's Gibbs?" Abby startled the both of them as she burst into the room, thankfully saving McGee from whatever he was preparing to say. She had skidded into the bullpen and to a halt at Gibbs' desk, at which she was now staring, noting its obvious vacantness.

"He went off to alert security about our suspect, what are you doing here?" McGee said with a frown, not pausing for breath in his sentence. "Aren't you supposed to be-"

"When is he going to be getting back? I had this whole thing planned out! This is so inconvenient!" Abby moaned.

"Why, Abby? What's going on?" Kate asked to the goth, who quickly recovered from her disappointment and straightened at attention, a grin spreading across her face.

"Alright! Well I have some big news!" Abby said, holding her hands out to her friends as if bracing them, they leant forward in anticipation as she took a prolonged pause for dramatic affect. "Big news, okay? Big, big news! Well, not 'big, big' news, but it's exciting!"

"Abbs?"

"They're going to start weaning Tony off the ventilator tomorrow!" Abby burst out with a giddy jump, noisily jangling her assortment of bracelets and necklaces. Together Kate and McGee broke into smiles, both at the good news and also at their friend's contagious excitement.

"Abbs, that's great! When did you find out?" McGee asked, patting her shoulder.

"I went to visit in my lunch break and Ducky was there talking to Brad. Ducky knows already, but he said I could let you guys know in person. Now the only one that doesn't know is Gibbs!" Abby explained.

"Doesn't know what, Abbs?" Gibbs' voice said from behind her. She whirled around quickly and practically launched herself at him.

"You weren't here just a second ago when I told Kate and Tim but it was too exciting to hold in, I hope you don't mind that I went ahead, don't feel left out or anything because you're the last one to know, I seriously was trying to find you to tell you first but you weren't here and anyway- they're going to start weaning Tony off the ventilator tomorrow, Gibbs!" Abby gushed breathlessly.

Gibbs absorbed the information and tilted his head back slightly as he regarded it, the three watched him, waiting for his reaction.

"That mean he'll be awake soon?" Gibbs asked her, his face impassive.

"Yeah, I'm not sure when but it'll really, really soon!"

"So he'll be talking again?"

"Yeah! We're getting our Tony back!"

"Oh." Gibbs grunted. "'Was beginning to appreciate the silence…"

Abby turned to look at his face as he made his way back to his desk but he kept it emotionless, she looked appalled and moved up to chastise him, her finger was already pointed and ready to wag. He sat down heavily in his seat and looked up at her daringly as she stood on the other side of his desk. Her features were aghast right up until a grin split his face and his shoulders relaxed. She moved up and hugged him tight from behind, pretending that she had fallen for his small attempt at a joke. She had known Gibbs the longest, and she was the only one that had watched the relief flood through him at the news. She felt him sigh deeply under her arms as if he was taking a breath for the first time since Tony had gotten sick. Tony had finally marched up and over this horrendous mountain and was now making his way down the other side.

**Um well, hello you lot. So, look: the thing is, um, can you please not murder me with a pick axe, please? I have a couple of feeble excuses that I imagined myself up if you'd like to hear them, otherwise I totally understand if you just want to torture me: water-board, thumbscrews or simply sandpaper off all my skin and dunk me in lemon juice. **

**I haven't updated this in like a gazillion trillion million yonks, and that's like, a long time. My main excuse is I have my half yearly exams, and I'm not usually one to stress out until it's the night beforehand, but this year I've been stressing a couple of nights in advance as I've been desperately trying to learn a year's worth of information for ten subjects at the very last minute. So it's sucking to be me a little. (Seriously, I haven't even seen Harry Potter yet. I mean this is _me,_ _Emily_. Don't try and say you're a bigger fan then I am because I'll just tell you that you're not and that you shouldn't say that.)**

**The good news is that I'll be off on my summer holidays for two months in a couple of weeks (yuss!) And I'll be able to write my boring 'shock-horror-Tony's-got-ARDS-story' to my heart's content. **

**I accept death threats. XX**

**PS: I forgot to apologise for how boring and short this chapter is; this is what I've been reduced to. It sucks, I know. **


	8. Chapter 8

McGee sat rigidly in his office chair, staring intently at the screen before him. He was hyperconscious of his body every possible way, monitoring every movement and function like his life depended on it. He held his neck stiffly and fixed his eyes in place, breathing in short, shallow and cautiously inaudible breaths. He sat up as straight as heavenly possible with his feet firmly pressed onto the floor. His fingers worked like a whirlwind on the keypad as he desperately tried to remain focused on the task at hand, cursing his mind for obsessing over the unimportant. But he couldn't help it; his boss' head was hovering mere inches over his shoulder.

McGee knew that the audibility of his breathing was the last thing that was on Gibbs' mind. Gibbs wasn't actually focusing on him at all. He had his undivided attention absorbed on McGee's computer screen as he displayed the critical information.

What Kate didn't understand as she lounged behind her desk, or what Gibbs hadn't realized while he was engrossed in the data, was that this was McGee's first real chance to prove himself whilst not standing in Tony's shadow.

They had caught the case of a disappearance of a large sum of money off the Marine Base in Quantico. Everything had unravelled miraculously in the past hour. The indifferent attitude of a co-worker of the deceased had proved a reason for McGee to hack their personal computer which they appeared so overprotective and partial to. Tim had unlocked the files in a mere hour of skilful, to some extent artful computer techniques, which by some miracle had revealed the precise solution to their case.

Of course McGee had solved cases before, contributing and occasionally being the one to discover the final, concluding clue, but this was his first case on Gibbs' team without DiNozzo lurking about.

The imperceptible connection between the Lead and the Senior Field agent perplexed McGee. He understood the loyalty, admiration and faith that DiNozzo had in his boss. It would be difficult to find a person who did not admire and respect the older man, even if some of that was out of the terror he enforced. What he could not understand was the patience, approval and trust that Gibbs bestowed upon Tony. He did not understand it at all. The guy was simply a menace; a constant childish distraction that had by some miracle, gained the position of Gibbs' right hand man.

It was not to say that Tony was inadequate. He was a federal agent and he did his job well. He solved puzzles, saved lives and put the baddies behind bars. Yet McGee did the exact same thing, just that he wasn't a juvenile, immature, attention-seeker. He just simply could not understand why DiNozzo's show-off, inappropriate behaviour was deemed valid in Gibbs' books. McGee's job description was exactly the same as Tony's. The only difference was that he performed his work quietly and conscientiously and with the latest, impeccable technology. Whilst Tony plinked lazily at his keyboard, only calling on McGee when he could not locate the 'Shift' button, or when Google wasn't loading.

What frustrated him even more was the fact that he could not ignore the jealousy he felt; as much as he wanted to deny it and suppress it.

So now McGee didn't quite know what he was trying to achieve. Possibly a moment of success in Gibbs' eyes, that wasn't downgraded by a demeaning nickname or a spit-ball in the ear. He wanted to prove to Gibbs that he was just as good as Tony, he could use technology to solve cases, instead of relying on ancient movies to draw ideas or conclusions from.

Gibbs straightened up swiftly and looked over at Kate who now appeared slightly more alert. McGee looked up expectantly at his boss, his eyes wide as he sat staring at his turned back.

"Is Patterson still being held down in interrogation?" Gibbs asked with a sense of urgency.

"Erm no," Kate said, checking her watch and looking worried. "I told them to release him about ten minutes ago."

"Dammit." Was all Gibbs uttered before he took off out of the bullpen and to the elevator, leaving the duo sitting hesitantly in their seats, unsure of what to do. He jabbed at the button furiously a number of times, then raced off in the direction of the stairwell.

Kate watched as Gibbs hurriedly rounded the corner and disappeared down the stairs. She turned her head back to find McGee's only inches from her own. Kate sat for a couple of seconds, nose to nose with her co-worker who appeared unfazed or ignorant to the obvious breach of the universal rule of 'personal bubble'. Kate rolled her chair back a half a metre and folded her arms.

"You think he's mad?" McGee asked, straightening up and wringing his hands.

"Um, no. Why?"

"I dunno, he just seemed a little mad to me. So I guess you didn't think he seemed all that mad? I don't know about you but I have this bad feeling that he's mad at me." Tim said, stumbling over his sentence.

"Tim, why on earth would he be mad at you? You pretty much just solved the entire case."

"Yeah, exactly!"

"Yeah, what exactly?"

"Well he didn't say anything. He just walked out."

"He sprinted out in search of a free-walking criminal."

"He didn't say anything!"

"When have you ever known him to ever say anything anyway? He's a grade A functioning mute, McGee. That's common knowledge"

"But doesn't he usually say something? You know, when Tony does something?"

Kate blew out a breath and gave an exasperated shake of her head. How did she know that this was what it was going to knuckle down to? She had been naive to think that the stern talking to she had given the junior agent the previous morning had taken any effect.

"Tim- "

"I could swear he does, he usually does something, or says something…"

"Well I'll hit you over the head if it'll make you feel any better; it might even make you shut it for a couple of minutes, Tim." Kate said, getting irate. "We've been over this, McGee. Over and over and over and over this."

"I know, but this time feels different."

"McGee, look." She sighed, "I'm not going to be repeating this, so listen. Yes, this time _is _different. It's different to all the other times you've helped out with cases over the time you've been on the team. It's different because Tony's sick, he's not here. That's affecting the way we work as a team, it's affecting the way that Gibbs leads the team. _It's different_. You're focusing way too much on trying impress or please Gibbs, McGee, you really need to stop it. It's hard enough with only three of us here to deal with all the work; we all need to focus on what we're supposed to be doing. Gibbs isn't blind, he isn't stupid and he doesn't take things for granted. I thought you would have understood the laws of Gibbs by now; Gibbs is an investigator, Tim, he is paid to be observant. Just because he isn't equally as gifted in the communication department doesn't mean he doesn't notice and understand what's going on."

McGee was silent, his cheeks flushed a fascinating beetroot and he was suddenly infatuated by his shoes. He opened his mouth only to swallow down a lump of air as he sought for an appropriate response.

"It's fine, Tim. You just need to relax a little, okay it's-"

"Kate! Tim! Where's Gibbs?" Abby startled the both of them as she burst into the room, thankfully saving McGee from whatever he was preparing to say. She had skidded into the bullpen and to a halt at Gibbs' desk, at which she was now staring, noting its obvious vacantness.

"He went off to alert security about our suspect, what are you doing here?" McGee said with a frown, not pausing for breath in his sentence. "Aren't you supposed to be-"

"When is he going to be getting back? I had this whole thing planned out! This is so inconvenient!" Abby moaned.

"Why, Abby? What's going on?" Kate asked to the goth, who quickly recovered from her disappointment and straightened at attention, a grin spreading across her face.

"Alright! Well I have some big news!" Abby said, holding her hands out to her friends as if bracing them, they leant forward in anticipation as she took a prolonged pause for dramatic affect. "Big news, okay? Big, big news! Well, not 'big, big' news, but it's exciting!"

"Abbs?"

"They're going to start weening Tony off the ventilator tomorrow!" Abby burst out with a giddy jump, noisily jangling her assortment of bracelets and necklaces. Together Kate and McGee broke into smiles, both at the good news and also at their friend's contagious excitement.

"Abbs, that's great! When did you find out?" McGee asked, patting her shoulder.

"I went in in my lunch break and Ducky was there talking to Brad. Ducky knows already, but he said I could let you guys know in person. Now the only one that doesn't know is Gibbs!" Abby explained.

"Doesn't know what, Abbs?" Gibbs' voice said from behind her. She whirled around quickly and practically launched herself at him.

"You weren't here just a second ago when I told Kate and Tim but it was too exciting to hold in, I hope you don't mind that I went ahead, don't feel left out or anything because you're the last one to know, I seriously was trying to find you to tell you first but you weren't here and anyway- they're going to start weening Tony off the ventilator tomorrow, Gibbs!" Abby gushed breathlessly.

Gibbs absorbed the information and tilted his head back slightly as he regarded it, the three watched him, waiting for his reaction.

"That mean he'll be awake soon?" Gibbs asked her, his face impassive.

"Yeah, I'm not sure when but it'll really, really soon!"

"So he'll be talking again?"

"Yeah! We're getting our Tony back!"

"Oh." Gibbs grunted. Abby turned to look at his face as he made his way back to his desk but he kept it emotionless, she looked appalled and moved up to chastise him, her finger was already pointed and ready to wag. He sat down heavily in his seat and looked up at her daringly as she stood on the other side of his desk. Her features were aghast right up until a grin split his features and his shoulders relaxed. She moved up and hugged him tight from behind, pretending that she had fallen for his small attempt at a joke. She had known Gibbs the longest, and she was the only one that had watched the relief flood through him at the news. She felt him sigh deeply under her arms as if he was taking a breath for the first time since Tony had gotten sick. He had finally marched up and over this horrendous mountain and was now making his way down the other side.

**Um well, hello you lot. So, look: the thing is, um, can you please not murder me with a pick axe, please? I have a couple of feeble excuses that I imagined myself up if you'd like to hear them, otherwise I totally understand if you just want to torture me: water-board, thumbscrews or simply sandpaper off all my skin and dunk me in lemon juice. **

**I haven't updated this in like a gazillion trillion million yonks, and that's like, a long time. My main excuse is I have my half yearly exams, and I'm not usually one to stress out until it's the night beforehand, but this year I've been stressing a couple of nights in advance as I've been desperately trying to learn a year's worth of information for ten subjects at the very last minute. So it's sucking to be me a little. (Seriously, I haven't even seen Harry Potter yet. I mean this is _me,_ _Emily_. Don't try and say you're a bigger fan then I am because I'll just tell you that you're not and that you shouldn't say that.)**

**The good news is that I'll be off on my summer holidays for two months in a couple of weeks (yuss!) And I'll be able to write my boring 'shock-horror-Tony's-got-ARDS-story' to my heart's content. **

**I accept death threats. XX**

**PS: I forgot to apologise for how boring and short this chapter is; this is what I've been reduced to. It sucks, I know. **


	9. Chapter 9

Tony was floating deep in an eternal ocean of grey, hazy weight. The water was thick and comfortably warm and it completely enveloped him. It pressed heavily down on him from all directions and he hung suspended in his oblivion. He felt nothing, he saw nothing, heard, touched, and knew nothing. His mind was void of anything; it did not register that there was anything to register. It was quiet and he knew that he was safe. He was content with the fog and did not question it, just embraced it as his own, private, serene heaven.

It wasn't always the tranquil place it was currently. There were sometimes vivid dreams, though they would vanish from memory and mind the minute they ceased. They were wild, lurid and terrifying and Tony had yet to decipher one of them. He found himself in situations he could not explain, swathed in strong emotions that he did not understand. They were projected out of proportion onto what he imagined to be the fluffy, weightless clouds of his nothingness. They were stretched, distorted, uncontrollable and terrifying.

But now it was alright, there were no dreams and he was only floating.

He gradually grew slightly more conscious of his body when an irritation began inkling at the back of his throat. It didn't bother him too much at first but as he became more alert to its presence the sensation increased. The feeling slowly traced its way from his throat and down into his chest, where it sat heavily. He was now suddenly aware that his oxygen supply was somehow restricted. He felt as though his current supply was not enough and that he was slowly suffocating within his own lungs. The sensation was more than vaguely uncomfortable and yet there was nothing he could do about it. He was too consumed in the fog. The feeling was still managing to reach him, even in his burrowed rut, dug deep in the realms of unconsciousness.

* * *

"We're taking everything slowly and steadily to begin with; this is quite a slow and delicate process. It is impossible to predict how long it will take as it varies from patient to patient. You're both aware that Tony has been deemed ready for progressive withdrawal from the ventilator device. The underlying double pneumonia has improved greatly and we are incredibly happy with his progress. He has adequate arterial oxygen tension, his vitals are looking good and his neurological and muscular statuses are fine.

"The process is that we will gradually lower the percentage of oxygen, pressure and frequency of the ventilator so Tony becomes less dependent on it. We will accompany this with sporadic intervals of completely stopping the ventilator as so to force the lungs to breathe on their own.

"Tony will be on anti anxiety medication through this process but we will cease using sedatives, if we want this to succeed Tony needs to be actively involved. We've already begun reducing his medication. He is going to require large amounts of physical therapy in his rehabilitation; our hospital has some of the best therapists in the state."

Kate nodded slowly and took in the information, catching Ducky's eye as he gazed across at her, making sure she had taken in the information. The doctor stood in front of them both and smiled.

"Do either of you have any questions?" He asked kindly.

"No, I don't think so. Thank you so much, Bradley, I believe the others will be thrilled at this great news." Ducky said cheerily.

"Well then I think I'll leave you two to explain to them." Dr. Pitt said with a smile before he turned and left the room. Ducky and Kate had been the two volunteers that had set off early that morning to the hospital, to receive and repeat the finer details of Tony's situation. They both whipped out their mobiles once the doctor had left, and instantly began spreading the news about the small family of co-workers.

* * *

Kate was sitting in the seat beside Tony's bed, casually gazing across at his features while Ducky stood at the head of the bed, studying the clipboard attentively.

Tony's brow furrowed and his eyelids fluttered for a split second, causing Kate to bounce bolt upright from her seat and toss aside a slightly gnawed at bagel. She was instantly hovering centimeters over Tony's head.

"Tony?" She questioned hopefully. She had not expected any sort of response and almost leaped out of her own skin when Tony emitted a low, undistinguishable sound, barely perceptible, from the back of his throat. She pressed further forward and gently touched his hand. "Tony?" She whispered again and waited with baited breath. Time ticked by slowly and he made no further response.

The instant she had overcome the quick moment of surprise she began thinking logically, there was no way that Tony's 'response' was anything other than a co-incidence. It was not possible that he was lucid enough to react. He did seem agitated though, and his brow creased for a second time before relaxing back as before.

Kate glanced self-consciously up at Ducky who was busy pretending that he had not noticed the way she had sprung from her seat and the way she shifted nervously at the beside. She gave Tony's hand a quick pat and shuffled back into her place, retrieving the mangled bagel from where it had fallen.

She held it awkwardly in her lap pretending that she was too hygienic and mature to consider eating it again. She sat hosting a furious internal battle within her. She soon gave up and ripped a small piece off, deciding that the hospital floor was probably the safest place to find and consume a discarded bagel. If either Tony or McGee had been watching they'd have given her a stripping down with the hypocrisy of the situation, the Hygiene Queen was eating something off of the floor.

Ducky moved up to stand by her side and gave her a warm smile. They had spent quite a bit of time together since the day that Tony had irresponsibly opened the mysterious letter.

"I expect Jethro will be arriving soon. He phoned me earlier and said he planned to arrive here at precisely…" Ducky glanced down at his watch, gazing at the seconds hand as it neatly ticked over the twelve, "Now."

Both Kate and Ducky looked up simultaneously at the doors that lead into the small room, expecting the older man to stroll in. After ten seconds they both looked away with small smiles sitting in the corners of their mouths, internally laughing at their high expectations.

"He has been working himself right into the ground- Jethro." Ducky said softly, staring out into the corridor. "He's exhausted."

"Maybe it's his way of coping, you know, with everything?" Kate said in reply, looking up at the worry in the doctor's face.

"You're quite right, my dear, it certainly is. I'm sure it isn't the first time he has used this technique either."

"… Taking his mind off things..."

"Distraction; A useful, and yet occasionally a dangerous option when it is used in the way, and to the extent that Jethro is using it. Almost obsessively."

Kate remained silent, unsure of with what intent the older man had initiated the conversation. She was sure that she was not prepared to deny any person their coping mechanism, especially her boss. He was not doing anybody any harm, besides himself. He was a perfectly capable, reasonable and competent man and never in her life had she questioned his judgment. If he thought that throwing himself obsessively into his work, denying himself food and rest as to keep his mind in check was an adequate tactic, then it was probably fit for anybody.

"I'm unsure if there is any way to discourage his behavior, being as stubborn as he is. We can only hope that Tony's recovery is speedy and that Gibbs will- - Ah! Jethro!" Ducky said, rising to his feet as the agent rounded to corner and slid through the glass doors.

Gibbs gave both Kate and Ducky a courteous nod as he entered the room. He shuffled a little closer to the bed and peered over at the agent. When he turned back it was obvious to the other two that there would be no fluffing about on pleasantries.

Gibbs looked serious. It was a Saturday morning and the other two were lost as to what Gibbs might do on a weekend. That was probably what had set him in his mood; he had nothing to do once at home, leaving him more time to sit idly with his own mind.

Ducky moved quickly to take a seat and began explaining everything to the agent, who stood staring stony faced out of the window.

* * *

**Greetings,**

**I updated! I know, I know right? Weird!**

**So I've finished all my exams (thanks for all the luck you wished me, I think it worked), and am on summer holidays! So far holidays are good, that can be judged by the fact that I'm pretty sure I've already developed some form of skin cancer, even if it is self diagnosed.**

**So there's a slight possibility the updates might come a little faster. The thing is I have no idea about any of the medical stuff that is in this story and am replying on these websites that take me longer to work out that it does to actually write up a chapter. If anyone knows anything useful- and I seriously mean anything, let me know. Please.**

**Please review it! It actually makes writing this all worth while, without you all I wouldn't bother. Constructive criticism is welcomed warmly, along with anything else you might feel the tiniest urge to tell me, no matter if it is in capital letters or not. **

**Missed you! Xx**


	10. Chapter 10

He couldn't come up with a word that could describe how he felt. All and any movie titles and scenes that might have touched on his situation or the way he was feeling had evaded his head. Strangely, the fact that he could not recall a movie to match his circumstances did not trouble him; in reality the thought did not even drift through the waffle that his mind was. His thoughts were blurred and distorted inside his skull and felt as though they had been configured from washing-machine lint and blown into his mind with a vacuum cleaner.

In actual fact there were only three of them drifting about in his head. The first was focused on the fact that he only had about three thoughts and that he couldn't think straight. The second thought revolved around the fact that he felt like absolute shit. Everything ached, most of the pain sprouting from his chest and branching out across the rest of his body. The third thing was that there was something in his ear.

Music?

Loud music.

Really loud music.

What the hell?

* * *

It had been two weeks since Tony had been placed on the mechanical ventilator and just the night before had the doctor announced that finally the Senior Field Agent would begin the slow and tedious process of coming off the ventilator.

It was the late afternoon. Abby was standing leaning against Tony's bed, one hip pulled up in a half seated position over the sheets. She was spinning an iPod earphone in one hand whilst she stared over at McGee who was positioned at the end of the bed with his hands firmly folded over his chest and an unconvinced expression playing on his face.

The room had transformed over the period of Tony's stay at the hospital, without the occupant actually being able to appreciate it himself. The bland cabinet that hugged the far wall of the room and the small bench that stood solidly at the end of the bed were littered with a vivacious rainbow of colour. Cards, flowers and small novelty toys sat cheerily in their designated places, colour coordinated by Abby. It was quickly noted that the majority of the cards that Tony had received were signed in feminine, curly handwriting. They were from women everybody had previously assumed did not know Tony at all. A large percentage of the flowers that were set in the vases were black, glittery roses and it was commonly assumed they were from a woman DiNozzo knew reasonably well. The small gifts, aside from a few being heart shaped and fluffy, were mostly inappropriate, with a handful even earning a place buried in the bottom draw of the cabinet for DiNozzo to deal with personally.

The overflowing fountain of well-wishing surprises, continued to be delivered. The variety of personalities sending them surprised the team, who had always assumed Tony's social life was talked out of proportion. They received phone calls from his frat brothers and college friends, football teammates, Baltimore PD chums as well as Peoria and Philadelphia. They had explained Tony's situation to everybody from his tailor to his neighbours, his barista and the bloke who owned the local cinema. Unsurprisingly, there was no word from DiNozzo's mysterious family.

The strict visiting regulations of the ICU section made it difficult for many to visit the hospital and almost everybody sensibly refrained. It was commonly understood that the allotted spaces for visitors were reserved for the team and very close friends.

"But wouldn't you want that if it was you, McGee? Some of your favourite music to gently sooth you awake?" Abby asked pointedly to McGee's critical expression.

"Well, yeah… but then again it could just send me back to sleep."

"Well, I think Tony has been doing quite enough of that recently. And anyway, _I'd _like it, and doesn't everybody always say 'treat others how you would like to be treated'?"

McGee made an unintelligible noise at the back of his throat which Abby took as the sound of his whole hearted agreement. She unravelled the rest of the iPod headphones and carefully poked them into Tony's ears, casting a mischievous smile over her shoulder at McGee. She then focused down at the device and began scrolling through the songs, looking for the right one.

McGee moved over and flopped into the seat by the bedside, giving up on his disagreeable act.

"I have to say, you _are_ very organized, Abbs. How did you get Tony's favourite music downloaded onto that in the time we had before we left?"

Abby looked up at him and then back down.

"Um, well, you only really gave me a one minute heads up that you were taking me to visit, so I didn't have time to download some of _exactly_ what Tony likes. I mean, I'd been thinking about it the other day but then I got all distracted with those juicy algae samples you brought down before…"

"So, no Sinatra?"

"McGee! You know the perfection that I listen to, and people have very different tastes in music. I'm sure Tony feels the same way about his jazz as I do about my music, and the same way you do about your...- um. So no, I don't really have any jazz on here… but Tony always says he likes my music, and I'm sure he won't mind..."

Tim raised his eyebrows and winced the same wince Tony wore whenever he politely insisted that Abby's music was tolerable.

"Um, I think this has got to be the closest thing I've got to jazz." Abby said, pressing the play button.

The noise that erupted from the little plugs in Tony's ears startled McGee, who was sitting safely a good few feet away. In a millisecond McGee was already convinced that Tony was now completely deaf, as no eardrum could have survived the murderous onslaught that was pouring from the earphones. The steady thrumming of the music filled the air, with a distinctive thrashing pulse that would have tortured Sinatra to insanity. The music was at least five generations away from jazz's most deformed great uncle and held no resemblance whatsoever.

The music had been playing for all of two seconds before McGee was half rising from his seat. "Abby! Turn it down! You're going to kill him!" McGee said harshly, but Abby was already furiously spinning the dial on the small machine until it could no longer be heard. Her eyes were transfixed on Tony and she watched guiltily for any signs of life.

McGee was just opening his mouth to scold Abby when she jumped on the bed and leant forward over the horizontal agent so their noses were inches away from each others.

"Tony?" She questioned sharply. She was rewarded with an groan from the bed. She bounced excitedly. "Tony-boy! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for it to be so loud!" Abby said, without sounding the slightest bit apologetic. McGee couldn't help wondering how long Abby had been plotting out the most proficient and undetectable way to wake Tony up.

McGee leant over to catch sight of Tony's eyes, opened barely in slight slits, deep green visible underneath his heavy lashes. He blinked a few times before screwing his eyes up hard in their sockets and reopening, as if trying to clear his vision. Abby had already pressed the button for the nurse on the side of the bed.

"Tony? How are you going?" She asked gently, placing a warm hand on his shoulder. His eyes lazily found their way to her face. "I was so worried about you! The nurse is coming right now so you can just relax. Gibbs, Kate and Ducky are going to totally flip out when I tell them that you're awake!"

Tony didn't seem to be hearing her. Through his drugged haze he had only just noticed the unsightly blue tube that was protruding from and clogging his mouth. All he could focus on was the sensation of it sitting in his throat and the unnatural, compressing breaths that it was forcing into his lungs.

In his panic his breathing began to pick up its pace and be started fighting against the ventilator. He was breathing against the strong gushes of air that were forcing his lungs to inflate. The heart monitor beside the bed began to loudly inform the room of his pulse.

Abby looked up worriedly as the door to the room slid open. She was leaning over her friend and was failing with her attempt at coaching him through soothing breathing patterns. Two nurses strode into the room with purpose and did not slow as they moved to the side of the bed, smiling at both Abby and McGee who stood with their arms folded, looking anxiously on.

"Mr. DiNozzo, you need to try and calm yourself down." The first said as she checked his pupil reactions with a small penlight. "Can you hear me, Mr DiNozzo? You're in the hospital."

Tony tried to comply with the nurses instructions as best as he could, nodding his head briefly and trying his best to breathe in time with the ventilator.

The second nurse leant over and administered a syringe full of a clear liquid into the IV port. Instantly, Tony's already heavy body began to feel even heavier and the world began to seem more tranquil.

"That's good, Tony, you need to just relax for us. You took a turn for the worse a couple of weeks ago and we had to place you on a ventilator while we treated your pneumonia. You're going to be coming off the ventilator very soon. The doctor will be coming by any minute and will explain everything to you. What we need you to do in the mean time is to try your best to keep calm and breathe in time with the ventilator. Your friends are here and everything is fine. If you need anything, I am Lucy and this is Maz, you just press this little button here and we will come, okay?"

Tony nodded dumbly, his head was spinning and he couldn't keep up. Everything seemed so surreal and for a moment he assumed he was simply dreaming one of the wild and vivid dreams that had been haunting him for what felt like forever.

He blinked slowly and suddenly the nurses had vanished. Abby was standing in their place and was stroking his hand; a large smile was spread beautifully across her face. McGee stood goofily behind her, childishly unaware of the cheesy grin that he wore unawares.

Suddenly, all the exhaustion that had been toying at the back of his mind as he had been comprehending his resurrection back to the land of the living, came crashing down on him. In an instant he could hardly keep his eyelids from slipping closed and all the questions that had been building up were lost. All he knew was that he had to sleep. And then he was gone.

**And that's the end of that chapter.**

**Thanks to all of you for the reviews. I sit at my computer grinning like and idiot and occasionally break into spontaneous happy dances. Which is awkward if I so happen to be in the presence of another human person being. Also, thanks 'Me' for your review (I have a feeling I know who you are), it was a great source of motivation- fear of finding a stalkerish sparkly vampire in my bedroom tends to get me writing. Original, I have to admit. I think I've only heard that one once.**

**I probably won't update before the 25th and then I'll be going on holidays for a couple of weeks. I'll try my best to get a chapter up before then but both you and I know the foundations of my authors notes are lies so..**

**Merry Christmas to you all! Be well and merry and such! Have a great new year too. Party. I think a new years resolution of mine might go along the lines of 'something, something, less fanfiction, something, something, more social interaction with the kind of people that are not imaginary, something, less icecream'.**

**I'm kidding. Love you all. Xx**

**(Also, if your into this sort of thing: follow: .com )**


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